And now to Argentina...

I first tried Alfajores at La Merceria, a pretty cafe/home decor shop near my office. They are the Argentinian version of shortbread in the form of little sandwich cookies filled with Dulce de Leche or jam. This version is from the LCBO's Food and Drink magazine and contains both almond & all-purpose flour, butter, grated lemon peel, eggs, vanilla, salt and icing sugar.

Once mixed, the dough is chilled, rolled out and cut into circles. Baking time is 20 minutes at 325 degrees. I made Dulce de Leche for the filling because, duh, it's caramel and who doesn't like caramel? Whole milk & sugar is boiled, then baking soda added and the mixture simmered for about an hour until it browns {I only made a cup's worth; larger batches will take 2-3 hours}. Then you're supposed stir rapidly for 10 minutes until it thickens. Mine turned out kind of watery so I put in the freezer overnight once it cooled and that thickened it up. Whatever dulce you have after leftover after assembling your cookies can be added to your morning latte. Mmmm...

One more batch...

Another one of Elana's Pantry recipes: Dairy-free, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. Ok, I think I'm good for now, time for a gluten-free break as I have some new books and magazines with recipes I want to try. These were good and were a hit at the office; very moist and it was my first time using almond flour - delicious but expensive!

More gluten-free goods...

So I'm currently obsessed with Elana's Pantry recipes. I still have a few more I want to try. These Blueberry Muffins took 10 minutes to make and were really good, although not as good the next day. So far, I've noticed gluten-free recipes have a shorter shelf life than regular baking; I saved a couple for breakfast and the muffin liners were difficult to peel off. Better as a bake-and-eat treat.

Gluten-free b-day cupcakes

Peanut butter chocolate chip cupcakes from Elana's Pantry for a healthy friend's birthday = easy to make & delicious!